M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God’s Ten Great Laws
20 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house where you were servants.
3 “Have no gods other than Me.
4 “Do not make for yourselves a god to look like anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
5 “Do not worship them or work for them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the children, even the great-grandchildren, for the sins of their fathers who hate Me. 6 But I show loving-kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Laws.
7 “Do not use the name of the Lord your God in a false way. For the Lord will punish the one who uses His name in a false way.
8 “Remember the Day of Rest, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you will do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Day of Rest to the Lord your God. You, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, or the traveler who stays with you, must not do any work on this day. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them. And He rested on the seventh day. So the Lord gave honor to the Day of Rest and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so your life may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.
13 “Do not kill other people.
14 “Do not do sex sins.
15 “Do not steal.
16 “Do not tell a lie about your neighbor.
17 “Do not have a desire for your neighbor’s house. Do not have a desire for his wife or his male servant, his female servant, or his bull or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 All the people heard and saw the thunder and lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw it, they shook with fear and stood far away. 19 They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so you may have enough fear of Him to keep you from sinning.” 21 The people stood far away, while Moses came near to the cloud where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 Do not make any gods other than Me. Do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. 24 Make an altar of earth for Me, and on it give your burnt and peace gifts in worship, your sheep and cattle. In every place where My name is to be remembered, I will come to you and bring good to you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, do not build it of cut stones. For if you use an object to cut it, it will be unclean. 26 And do not go up on steps to My altar, so no part of your body may be seen without being covered.’
Jesus Stands in Front of Pilate (A)
23 Then all the many people got up and took Jesus to Pilate. 2 They began to tell things against Him, saying, “We have found this Man leading the people of our nation in a wrong way. He has been telling them not to pay taxes to Caesar. He has been saying He is Christ, a King.”
3 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He said, “What you said is true.” 4 Then Pilate said to the religious leaders and to the people, “I find nothing wrong in this Man.” 5 They became more angry. They said, “He makes trouble among the people. He has been teaching over all the country of Judea, starting in Galilee and now here.”
Jesus Is Sent to Herod
6 When Pilate heard the word, Galilee, he asked, “Is the Man from Galilee?” 7 As soon as Pilate knew Jesus belonged in the country where Herod was king, he sent Him to Herod. Herod was in Jerusalem at that time also.
8 Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus because he had wanted to see Him for a long time. He had heard many things about Him and had hoped to see Him do some powerful work. 9 Herod talked to Jesus and asked many things. But Jesus said nothing. 10 The religious leaders and the teachers of the Law were standing there. They said many false things against Him.
11 Then Herod and his soldiers were very bad to Jesus and made fun of Him. They put a beautiful coat on Him and sent Him back to Pilate. 12 That day Pilate and Herod became friends. Before that they had worked against each other.
13 Pilate called the religious leaders and the leaders of the people and the people together. 14 He said to them, “You brought this Man to me as one that leads the people in the wrong way. I have asked Him about these things in front of you. I do not find Him guilty of the things you say against Him. 15 Herod found nothing wrong with Him because he sent Him back to us. There is no reason to have Him put to death. 16 I will punish Him and let Him go free.”
Jesus or Barabbas Is to Go Free (B)
17 *Every year at the time of the special supper, Pilate would let one person who was in prison go free. 18 They all cried out together with a loud voice, “Take this Man away! Let Barabbas go free.” 19 Barabbas had killed some people and had made trouble against the leaders of the country. He had been put in prison.
20 Pilate wanted to let Jesus go free so he talked to them again. 21 But they cried out, “Nail Him to a cross! Nail Him to a cross!” 22 Pilate said to them the third time, “Why, what bad thing has He done? I have found no reason to put Him to death. I will punish Him and let Him go free.”
23 But they kept on crying out with loud voices saying that He must be nailed to a cross. Their loud voices got what they wanted. 24 Then Pilate said that it should be done as they wanted. 25 Pilate let the man go free who had made trouble against the leaders of the country and who had killed people. He gave Jesus over to them to do with as they wanted.
Jesus on the Cross (C)
26 They led Jesus away. A man named Simon was coming in from the country of Cyrene and they made him carry the cross following behind Jesus.
27 Many people followed Jesus. There were women who cried and had sorrow for Him. 28 Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem do not cry for Me. Cry for yourselves and your children. 29 Listen! The days are coming when they will say, ‘Those who have never had children are happy. Those whose bodies have never given birth are happy. Those who have never fed babies are happy.’ 30 They will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us.’ They will say to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 If they do these things to a green tree, what will they do when it is dry?”
32 Two other men were led away with Jesus to be put to death also. These men had done things making them guilty of death. 33 When they came to the place called Calvary, they nailed Jesus to a cross. The other two men were nailed to crosses also. One was on the right side of Jesus and the other was on His left side. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His clothes by drawing names.
35 The people stood around looking on. The leaders were there with them making fun of Jesus. They said, “He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the Chosen One of God!” 36 The soldiers made fun of Him also. They put sour wine before Him. 37 They said, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” 38 These words were written in the Greek and Latin and Hebrew languages above His head: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
The Two Robbers (D)
39 One of the men who was guilty of death who was on a cross beside Jesus spoke bad words to Him. He said, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40 But the other man on a cross spoke sharp words to the one who made fun of Jesus. He said, “Are you not afraid of God? You are also guilty and will be punished. 41 We are suffering and we should, because of the wrong we have done. But this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your holy nation.” 43 Jesus said to him, “For sure, I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
The Death of Jesus (E)
44 It was dark over all the earth from noon until three o’clock. 45 The sun did not shine. In the house of God the curtain was torn in two pieces.
46 Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I give My spirit.” When He said this, He died.
47 When the soldier saw what had happened, he thanked God. He said, “For sure, He was a good man.” 48 All the many people who came together to see the things that were done, went away beating themselves on their chests. 49 All His friends and the women who had come with Him from Galilee stood a long way off watching these things.
The Grave of Jesus (F)
50 There was a man named Joseph who belonged to the court. He was a good man and one who did right. 51 This man did not agree with what the court did. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews. He was looking for the holy nation of God to come. 52 Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
53 Then he took it down and put it in linen cloth. It was laid in a grave which had been cut out in the side of a rock. This grave had never been used.
54 It was time to get ready for the Day of Rest which was about to begin. 55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed behind. They saw the grave and how His body was laid. 56 They went back and got some spices and perfumes ready. But they rested on the Day of Rest as the Law said to do.
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the strong wind and said, 2 “Who is this that makes words of wisdom dark by speaking without much learning? 3 Now get ready like a man, and I will ask you some questions and you answer Me. 4 Where were you when I began building the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who decided how big it was to be, since you know? Who looked to see if it was as big as it should be? 6 What was it built upon? Who laid its first stone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God called out for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it rushed out from its secret place? 9 I made clouds its clothing, and put much darkness around it. 10 I marked the places where it could not pass, and set locks and doors. 11 And I said, ‘You will come this far, and no farther. Here will your proud waves stop.’
12 “Have you ever in your life told the morning when to come, and caused the first light of day to know its place, 13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the sinful be shaken out of it? 14 It is changed like clay when an object is pushed down to mark it, and they stand out like clothing. 15 The light of the sinful is held back, and the arm lifted up is broken.
16 “Have you gone into the wells of the sea? Have you walked on the bottom of the deep sea? 17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Or have you seen the gates of the deep darkness? 18 Have you understood how great the earth is? Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where does the light come from? And where is the place of darkness, 20 that you may take it to its land, and know the paths to its home? 21 You know, for you were born then. You are very old! 22 Have you gone into the store-houses of the snow? Have you seen the store-houses of the hail, 23 which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? 24 What is the way to the place where the light is divided, or the east wind spread over the earth?
25 “Who has cut open a way for the flood, and a path for the thunderstorm? 26 Who brings rain on the land without people, on a desert without a man in it, 27 to fill the need of the wasted land, and to make the grass grow? 28 Does the rain have a father? Who has given birth to the drops of rain? 29 Who gave birth to ice? And who gave birth to the snow water of heaven? 30 Water becomes hard like stone, and the top of the sea is covered with ice.
31 “Can you tie the chains of the stars of Pleiades, or loose the ropes of Orion? 32 Can you lead the groups of stars out at the right times? Can you lead the stars of the Bear with her young? 33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you make them to rule over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of water may cover you? 35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has given wisdom to the heart? Who has given understanding to the mind? 37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can push over the water jars of the heavens, 38 when the dust gathers together and becomes hard?
39 “Can you hunt food for the lion? Can you fill the hunger of the young lions, 40 when they lie in their own place in the rock, or wait in their hiding place? 41 Who gets the food ready for the raven, when its young cry to God and go about without food?
The Christian Way to Give
8 Christian brothers, we want you to know how the loving-favor of God has been shown in the churches in the country of Macedonia. 2 They have been put to the test by much trouble, but they have much joy. They have given much even though they were very poor. 3 They gave as much as they could because they wanted to. 4 They asked from their hearts if they could help the Christians in Jerusalem. 5 It was more than we expected. They gave themselves to the Lord first. Then they gave themselves to us to be used as the Lord wanted. 6 We asked Titus to keep on helping you finish this act of love. He was the one to begin this. 7 You are rich in everything. You have faith. You can preach. You have much learning. You have a strong desire to help. And you have love for us. Now do what you should about giving also. 8 I am not saying that you must do this, but I have told you how others have helped. This is a way to prove how true your love is. 9 You know of the loving-favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, but He became poor for your good. In that way, because He became poor, you might become rich.
10 This is what I think. You had better finish what you started a year ago. You were the first to want to give a gift of money. 11 Now do it with the same strong desires you had when you started. 12 If a man is ready and willing to give, he should give of what he has, not of what he does not have. 13 This does not mean that others do not have to give and you have to give much. You should share alike. 14 You have more than you need now. When you have need, then they can help you. You should share alike. 15 The Holy Writings say, “The man who gathered much did not have too much. The man who did not gather much had enough.” (A)
Titus Will Be Coming
16 I thank God that He gave Titus the same desire to help you. 17 He was glad when we asked him to help you. He decided himself to go to you. 18 We are sending the Christian brother along. He is respected in the churches for his preaching. 19 Not only that, but he has been asked by the churches to travel with me to Jerusalem. He will help in giving them the gift. The Lord will be honored by it because it shows how we want to help each other.
20 We want everyone to trust us with the way we take this large gift of money to them. 21 We want to do the right thing. We want God and men to know we are honest. 22 We are sending another Christian brother with them. We have tested him many times. His faith has proven to be true. He wants very much to help because he trusts you. 23 Titus works with me to help you. The other two Christian brothers have been sent by the churches. Their lives honor Christ. 24 Show these men you love them and let the churches see your love. Show them the reason I am proud of you.
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